SCO foreign ministers meet: EAM Jaishankar to visit China; his first trip since 2020 eastern Ladakh military standoff | India News

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar is all set to visit China for the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Tianjin next week, as confirmed by an official announcement on Saturday.The council of ministers of foreign affairs meeting of the SCO will convene in Tianjin on July 15, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign Ministry spokesperson.Jaishankar will participate in the SCO meeting and conduct a separate visit to China, though specific details were not provided.The meeting will include foreign ministers from SCO member states and heads of permanent bodies, invited by Wang Yi, member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of China and foreign minister.Discussions will focus on SCO cooperation and significant international and regional matters.The SCO now consists of 10 member states: China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.Bilateral discussions are expected to address ongoing normalisation efforts and China’s halt on rare earth metals supply, which affects various manufacturing sectors including automotive.This visit follows recent China trips by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.This marks Jaishankar’s first China visit since the 2020 eastern Ladakh military standoff, which significantly strained bilateral relations.Wang might visit India this month for boundary dispute discussions with NSA Doval under the Special Representatives dialogue framework.